The Warriors are expected to have the NBA's highest payroll next season. With the coronavirus pandemic expected to impact revenue by forcing the NBA to hold games without fans, the Warriors are in search of ways to lessen the blow if Chase Center's doors have to be shuttered.
Owner Joe Lacob reportedly might have found a way to help mitigate the financial impact the virus will have on the Warriors. Lacob informed other owners he's considering a deal with Goldman Sachs that would raise up to $250 million to help with the Warriors' expenses, ESPN's Brain Windhorst reported Monday.
With four players -- Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins -- slated to make $22 million or more next season and a $17.2 million trade exception to use, the Warriors could use an injection of capital in order to keep their payroll intact.
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The NBA informed its owner that 40 percent of the league's revenue comes from ticket sales and in-arena sponsorships. But the Warriors get 80 percent of their income from games at Chase Center and can make around $5 million in one home game, sources told Windhorst. For other teams, the take from a single home game can be less than $2 million, and others make less than $1 million on average.
This, of course, means that no one is set to up to get hit harder if there are no fans in arenas than the Warriors. However, the Warriors are more equipped to strike deals and weather the storm. Other teams are less lucky.
"The Warriors have the ability to raise money that a lot of teams can't," one team president told Windhorst. "Good for them. If our team was in that situation, we may have to trade players to deal with it."
While some franchises have laid off employees, Lacob hasn't done so. The Warriors owner also is investing in technology to help fans safely return to Chase Center next season.
Golden State Warriors
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Per Windhorst, the Warriors' financial situation has some in the NBA concerned about the distance between the haves and have-nots in the NBA growing and the impact that will have on the league's future.
The financial impact of the virus also could affect free agency and the NBA draft with teams possibly selling first-round picks to add cash and players potentially moving teams as franchises look to weather the financial storm.
While the NBA prepares to restart its season in Orlando on Thursday, the Warriors are taking in the long offseason, waiting for the 2020-21 season to begin sometime in December, fans or no fans, if all goes according to plan.
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